1. Technical Field
The present invention generally relates to a powder container for containing powder used for image formation; and a developing unit, a process unit, and an image forming apparatus, such as, a copier, a printer, a facsimile machine, a plotter, the like, or a multifunction machine (or multifunction peripheral) having at least two of capabilities of copying, printing, plotting, scanning, facsimile transmission, and the like, that includes the powder container.
2. Description of the Background Art
In electrophotographic image forming apparatuses, typically a powder container (e.g., a toner cartridge) for containing powder for forming images, such as powdered toner or developer, is provided separately from a process unit including a photoreceptor, a developing roller, and the like to facilitate maintenance work and reduce the cost of replacement components. Toner cartridges are provided with a discharge outlet to discharge toner contained therein, and the discharge outlet is detachably connectable to a supply inlet provided to the process unit, a developing device, or the like. A shutter is often provided to the discharge outlet to prevent leak of toner through the discharge outlet when the toner cartridge is dismounted from the process unit or the like. For example, JP-H11-223990-A proposes such a configuration.